IPL 2022: Virat Kohli is the Cristiano Ronaldo of cricket, says PBKS batter Bhanuka Rajapaksa
India Today
IPL 2022: Sri Lanka batter Bhanuka Rajapaksa, who made an early impact on his debut with Punjab Kings, said he is looking forward to taking fitness tips from Virat Kohli.
Having missed out on international selection opportunities over the years due to fitness issues, highly-rated Sri Lanka batter Bhanuka Rajapaksa is looking forward to make use of the Indian Premier League stint to hone his skills as well as take some fitness lessons from some of the best in the world.
The 30-year-old, who was bought by Punjab Kings at the mega auction, said he is looking forward to catching up with Virat Kohli, whom he believes is the "Cristiano Ronaldo of cricket". Rajapaksa said he has admired th work ethic of the former RCB captain.
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Kohli, as pointed out by Rajapaksa, has been credited for inducing a fitness revolution in the Indian cricket team. The 33-year-old has managed to cope with the demands of playing all three formats of the game for close to a decade.
"IPL is the best league in the world and with every teammate of yours you get to learn a lot about the game, so I am loving picking the brains of Shikhar Dhawan. I get along very well with Mayank Agarwal as we played U-19 together," Rajapaksa told the Press Trust of India.
"Outside of the team, Virat Kohli is always someone I could speak to and get some advice on fitness. He's at another different level when it comes to fitness.
"To me, he is the Cristiano Ronaldo of cricket for sure. The work he puts in you can obviously see the results. You can compare him to anyone when it comes to fitness or even skills-wise. He plays so hard and you can learn a lot by talking to him," he said.
